College Football Week 0 Picks 2025 (Saturday 23rd August)

The majority of College Football teams are still completing final preparations for the new season, but there are a number of teams who have been asked to play in 'Week 0' and that includes a couple of interesting Big 12 Conference rivals that will be bidding for Playoff Football later in the season.

In the main the top contenders are set to get going next week, but the game between the Cyclones and Wildcats in Dublin, Ireland has the making of a pivotal one even before the official kickoff in Week 1.

A thread with predictions for the College Football Playoff will be up and running for the Week 1 selections next week, but this thread is focused on getting the season off to a good start.

In recent years, the NFL Picks have been returning positive numbers regularly, but the College Football numbers have been pretty disappointing.

There is obviously a much higher turnover in College Football, while there are always going to be a few more mistakes compared with the professionals, although those are not going to cut it as excuses as to why there has been such a difference in the results achieved.

Setting yourself a challenge to vastly improve, while not compromising the NFL results, is not going to be easy to achieve, but it is a new year and everything begins from zero.

With that in mind, it does feel important to just build some early momentum if possible, beginning with the three selections made from Week 0.

Kansas State Wildcats vs Iowa State Cyclones Pick: The College Football is ever-changing, but the Big 12 Conference has decided against using Divisions and that means it feels very wide open at the top.

Last year four teams finished with a 7-2 record and three more with a 6-3 record and there is every chance that the Big 12 Champion is going to have more than one loss on the record. However, that will not prevent them from joining the College Football Playoff, as Arizona State did last season.

The Sun Devils were far from disgraced as the Number 4 Seed with an 11-2 record and they gave the Texas Longhorns all they could handle.

There is no getting away from the surprising season that Arizona State put together and so every team in this Conference may feel they can put together the Football needed to replicate the Sun Devils 2024 season.

However, amongst the favourites in the Big 12 this season are the Kansas State Wildcats and Iowa State Cyclones, who both had strong records in 2024, and these two teams will head over to Dublin to open the 2025 season.

Farmageddon has gone international.

The fans who will be attending this game should have plenty of fun with the Kansas State Wildcats and Iowa State Cyclones holding onto a number of starters from last season, including having experienced Quarter Backs leading the way. This will feel like a big, early opportunity to lay down a marker to the rivals in the Big 12 Conference and both teams will arrive in Ireland full of confidence.

There is always some uncertainty as to what you are going to see from any team when they open a new College Football season, but having a number of starters return is clearly a bonus. Both the Wildcats and Cyclones are led by solid Head Coaches who have stamped their authority on the respective schools and that should pave the way for a really good season opener.

Injury is a major factor in College Football and the Iowa State Cyclones were hit hard by that bug, which makes reaching the Big 12 Championship Game most impressive. The Linebacker corps looks stronger and the Defensive Line is also shored up by Domonique Orange, and it will be important for the Cyclones to show a bit more strength at stopping the run.

Last season that was a real issue for them with the team allowing over 188 yards per game on the ground, which is something that the Kansas State Wildcats will be looking to exploit in this opener. Last season the Wildcats were amongst the best teams at running the ball and they have a solid tandem playing behind Quarter Back Avery Johnson, who is much more experienced himself.

That is key for the Wildcats and Johnson could have a decent game throwing the ball against this Iowa State Secondary that has been rebuilt. His Offensive Line is going to be a work in progress and some of the new Receivers may take a bit of time getting the chemistry going with the Quarter Back, but they are facing a Cyclones team that had issues picking up Sacks in 2024 and Avery Johnson should help establish a real balance to the Wildcats play.

The Cyclones also bring back plenty of experience from last year as they bid to go one better than 2024 when losing the Big 12 Championship Game.

A lot of that experience is on the Offensive side of the ball, led by Quarter Back Rocco Becht and he is supported by a number of skill players that will make Iowa State very dangerous.

Importantly, the Cyclones Offensive Line is very experienced and that will help massively on this side of the ball. And that will be needed against this Wildcats Defensive Line, which comes into the season with a huge sense of expectation around them as they look to make Offenses that face them one-dimensional.

This battle at the Line of Scrimmage is going to be a key factor to the outcome of the game and the Wildcats have players who may have more success disrupting the passing game and slowing down the run.

Getting to Rocco Becht will be key to just protect a Secondary that may need to be bedded in, and the Kansas State Wildcats can do that, which in turn may give the edge in this Big 12 opener.

It is the Cyclones who have dominated the recent head to head in this rivalry series, including beating Kansas State by 8 points last season. However, it was the Wildcats who had the most yardage in that game and they can earn revenge in this neutral field setting with the superior work at the Line of Scrimmage on both sides of the ball making the difference in Kansas State's favour.

Fresno State Bulldogs @ Kansas Jayhawks Pick: Consistency is never easy to find in the world of College Football and there are always those seasons where a number of experienced players have to be replaced.

For the Fresno State Bulldogs, there is also the matter of having a new Head Coach as Matt Entz takes over a team that finished 6-7 in 2024. His experience at this level is minimal, but Matt Entz won Championships in his time as Head Coach of North Dakota State, including having an unbeaten season in 2019, and there is plenty of excitement around the appointment.

This also means going through something of a learning curve for both staff and players and teams do take a bit of time to moulded into the shape the Head Coach demands. Recruitment can sometimes take a couple of years to really reap the rewards of the foundation being laid, even in the era of the transfer portal.

It is that transfer portal that has been used to bring in experience at Quarter Back with EJ Warner arriving to take over having spent time with Temple and Rice previously. His father is a Super Bowl winning Quarter Back so there are going to be plenty of eyes on Warner at Fresno State, although the previous Coaching work done by Matt Entz suggests the lean will be on establishing the run.

Putting EJ Warner in the best position to succeed is key as he is going to be playing with inexperienced Receivers, while also being guilty of throwing too many Interceptions in previous roles.

And while the Bulldogs will want to establish the run, it should be noted that they are visiting a Kansas Jayhawks team who will be expected to be near the top of the Big 12 Championship and whose Defensive Line may be the strength of the entire unit on this side of the ball. That could mean EJ Warner is sometimes forced into positions where he feels he needs to make big plays down the field, and that could lead to some early problems against a Jayhawks Secondary that has been plugged up with players signed in the transfer portal.

The 5-7 record put together by the Kansas Jayhawks in 2024 was disappointing, but this is a team that can surpass the expectations as long as they can stay healthy.

Most important will be keeping Jalon Daniels on the field having looked like he was getting back to his best at the end of last season when helping the Jayhawks win four of their last six games. The experience of Daniels could go a long way to helping Kansas challenge at the top of the Big 12 Conference and he is offers a dual-threat out of the Quarter Back position that has to be respected.

He will be tested by the Bulldogs Secondary, but it may be tough for Fresno State to match the heights of last season when playing against the pass. A new scheme will always take a bit of time to bed in, while the balance of the Kansas Offensive unit could be key to just making those Defensive Backs have to think twice about what is coming their way.

It is a big spread and EJ Warner is capable of having a big outing, but the Kansas Defensive Line may force him to make a mistake or two and the Jayhawks can secure a big home win.

Stanford Cardinal @ Hawaii Rainbow Warriors Pick: There was a time in the not-too-distant past that the Stanford Cardinal were amongst the best teams in the entire College Football landscape.

Links to those times can be found in the General Manager position which is taken up by Andrew Luck and he has appointed Frank Reich as Head Coach in a bid to help turn things around.

The previous Head Coach, Troy Taylor was easy to dismiss after allegations were made against him and the 3-9 record in 2024 was an underachievement. It has meant some palyers have decided to make use of the transfer portal, including the starting Quarter Back, and the Cardinal have been tipped to finish bottom of the ACC standings in what will feel like a transitional season.

They get the chance to open the season at Mountain West Hawaii Rainbow Warriors who have a Head Coach under some pressure to deliver.

Timmy Chang has yet to enjoy a winning season in his time with the Rainbow Warriors, but the expectation is that an experienced team can at least push into the Bowl eligibility spots. The 13-25 record over the last three years sting, but Hawaii are going to be tough to beat at home and they do have a winnable schedule set up for them here.

Limited time was spent on the field by Micah Alejado last season, but he impressed in that time and the Rainbow Warriors believe their Quarter Back can shine in 2025. He will be facing an experienced Stanford Defensive unit, but one that struggled last season and they will have had to improve significantly to slow this Hawaii team down.

Perhaps more importantly, the Rainbow Warriors have a Defensive unit that is very capable with a number of experienced bodies returning.

They will be going up against a new Quarter Back for the Stanford Cardinal who have perhaps surprisingly chosen Ben Gulbranson over Elijah Brown, although the former has more experience at this level. In his time with the Oregon State Beavers, Ben Gulbranson started twelve games and his team had an 8-4 record, although the best successes were in 2022 and he has not reached that same level over the last two years.

Frank Reich will certainly try and set things up to be as comfortable as possible for his Quarter Back, but he may not have the longest leash after Gulbranson threw 4 Touchdown passed and 4 Interceptions last season.

The whole Offensive unit really struggled last season and it will be a challenge for the Head Coach to turn things around dramatically.

Stanford will be facing an improving Rainbow Warriors Defensive unit and one that is perhaps as strong as Timmy Chang has had in his time as Head Coach here.

Beating a Power 5 Conference team will be a huge test for Hawaii, but they are capable of doing that and already giving the hopes of a Bowl bid a boost. The road team will make things as tough as possible and Head Coach Frank Reich is deserving of plenty of respect, but the experienced Hawaii team is in its fourth year under Timmy Chang and that may see them make the big plays on both sides of the ball to earn a win and cover.

MY PICKS: Kansas State Wildcats - 2.5 Points @ 1.72 William Hill (1 Unit)

Kansas Jayhawks - 12.5 Points @ 1.80 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

Hawaii Rainbow Warriors - 2 Points @ 1.95 Bet Fred (1 Unit)